So I had 20 bear encounters, four grizzly, 16 black, and two-thirds of them just would watch me pedal by, maybe 30, 40 feet, and their head would swivel.

And about one-third of them took off into the brush.

I scared them into the brush.

And when I saw how fast they bolted, it was frightening.

Episode 312, a cycling trip from Alaska to Mexico with Jerry Hall.

You're listening to the Adventure Sports podcast, brought to you by 180 Tech.

We talk with adventurers from around the globe to bring you the inspiration and motivation you need to get started in the outdoors

or to keep you moving if you're already there.

Now here's your host, Kurt Linville.

Hello, friends. Thanks again for listening to the Adventure Sports podcast today. Today I have

Jerry Hall on the phone and Jerry's here to tell us about a book that he wrote about a trip that

he took back in 2012, so five years ago, when he decided to bike from Alaska to Mexico, and it was just one of these,

I'm going to do this sort of moments for him, and he's written a delightful book about it.

So if you want to look at his website while we're visiting here, you can find that at

Downhills Don't Come Free.com. That's Downhills Don't Come Free.com.

That's Downhills Don't Come Free.com.

Jerry Hall is talking to us from Minnesota today and calling from Tonka Bay.

Jerry, welcome to the program.

Thanks, Kurt.

Thanks for having me on, and I hope your listeners enjoy some of the things I have to say today. Oh, I'm sure we will.

So give us a little bit of background here. You decided, from what I've read from your book here,

you decided to just go try this. You weren't a biker ahead of time, and you just grabbed your gear,

...